Somerset, VT – July 1, 1957

Somerset, Vermont – July 1, 1957

     At 8:43 p.m. on July 1, 1957, a young couple on their way home from their honeymoon in Nantucket, Massachusetts, took off in a single-engine Stinson Voyager airplane from the Worcester (Mass.) Airport bound for upstate New York.  They were scheduled to reach their destination at 10 p.m..  However, while over Brattleboro, Vermont, the husband reported that they’d encountered strong headwinds and their arrival would be delayed.  When the aircraft never arrived it was reported missing. 

     What followed was a large scale search that lasted four days.  The wreckage was discovered on July 4th in a thickly wooded area near the Somerset Reservoir in the town of Somerset.  The bodies of the couple, Mark and Joan (Whiting) Larue of Hudson Falls, New York, were found inside.  They’d been married just two weeks.    

     It was surmised that the plane had been caught in a gust of wind and forced into a nose dive when the accident occurred.  There was no fire after the impact.    

     Sources:

     Schenectady Gazette, “Hunt For Newlyweds In Missing Plane To Be Resumed Today”, July 2, 1957 

     New York Times, “Missing Couple Dead”, July 5, 1957

     The (NY) Leader-Herald, “Honeymooners Found Dead In Plane Wreckage”, July 5, 1957, Pg. 1 

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